


The Engagement Ring

by princessgongjunim (MyOwnCharacterInEverything)



Series: The Pining Idiots of Angel Café [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Engagement, F/M, M/M, or maybe i just wrote too much, slow burn? kind of?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-12
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-07-29 17:49:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16269287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyOwnCharacterInEverything/pseuds/princessgongjunim
Summary: "Neither Ten nor Bambam noticed an eavesdropping Kun, who had been passing by and had noticed them through the little window in the door to the employee section. Kun couldn’t exactly hear what was being said. He only saw a handsome boy pulling out a ring and giving it to a clearly gushing Ten. And Kun quickly left, not wanting to witness the rest of what was clearly a private moment."AKA: The requested tenkun sequel toThe Tip GameWho knew that all it would take for Kun to notice Ten was a misunderstanding?





	The Engagement Ring

Ten didn’t know it back then, but his life changed on a perfectly normal Tuesday.

One minute, Angel Café was completely quiet, except for the sounds of Kun—the only other employee at the moment—reorganizing the kitchen, the way he always did when he was bored. It was lunch hour—ergo, the lack of people in the coffee shop—and Ten had been quietly eating lunch when the little bell above the shop door rang. Shaking his head to zone back in, Ten stood and looked up, only to see—

“Bambam?”

The visitor—Bambam—shot Ten a nervous grin. “Um, hi, Ten- _phi_ ,” Bambam said in Thai. “Julie said that I could find you here, and that there wouldn’t really be anyone here to interrupt…”

Wow. This was out of character for Bambam. Like, _really_ out of character. Normally, he was so confident, swaggering around like he owned the place.

“Well, you found me,” Ten replied. “What’s up?”

Bambam checked over both shoulders—a little pointless, since no one else was in the shop at the moment—and turned back to Ten.

Bambam let out a shaky breath. “So…um…you know, Lisa, right?”

Ten barely kept himself from rolling his eyes. “Ah, yes, Lisa. You mean, your best friend since childhood Lisa? Your high school sweetheart Lisa? Your partner both in dance and in life Lisa? Your better, prettier half Lis—”

“ _Yes, that Lisa, Ten-_ phi, _please_ ,” Bambam hissed. “It’s just… I…” he sighed, running his hands over his face. Then, throwing his hands up in the air, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a jewelry box.

Ten gasped when Bambam opened the jewelry box to reveal a rose gold ring set with a beautiful white gem. “Oh my god, _Bambam!_ ”

Bambam pulled the ring out of the box, handing it to Ten, who held it gently with his pointer finger and thumb.

“...it’s beautiful, Bambam,” Ten whispered reverently. “I love it.”

“Thanks,” Bambam said nervously. “I…I took a long time before picking one, and then I’ve been carrying it around with me for about three weeks now…”

(Neither Ten nor Bambam noticed an eavesdropping Kun, who had been passing by and had noticed them through the little window in the door to the employee section. Kun couldn’t exactly hear what was being said. He only saw a handsome boy pulling out a ring and giving it to a clearly gushing Ten. And Kun quickly left, not wanting to witness the rest of what was clearly a private moment.)

“So,” Ten wiggled his eyebrows. “You’re finally making an honest woman out of—”

“Ten- _phi!_ ” Bambam squawked.

“I’m just kidding, Bambam,” Ten said, taking the jewelry box from Bambam and gently putting the ring back in its place. “I’m happy for you both. I honestly can’t imagine either of you with anyone else.”

“Thank you, Ten- _phi_. I just… I guess I’m just nervous…”

“Which is perfectly natural!” Ten said, taking Bambam’s hands. “But let me tell you right now. She’s not going to say no. If anything, she’s probably going to ask what the hell took you so long.”

Bambam laughed. “That’s true…” Bambam pulled his hands out of Ten’s grip in order to repocket the ring. “Now, I came to ask you for help… Where should I propose? I’ve thought about the dance studio, or the park where we used to busk, but… I don’t know… Nothing feels… _romantic_ enough.”

Ten tilted his head, quickly filing through what he knew about Bambam and Lisa. (Which honestly felt like a little too much sometimes…) Dance was important to both Bambam and Lisa, but they did that for a living, so what was a way to get them to dance without making it feel like just another piece of choreo…?

Ten glanced to the side, and when he saw the flyer, an idea came to him.

“Bambam,” Ten said, “you know Day6, don’t you?”

Bambam frowned in confusion. “Yeah. They recently got scouted by the same talent agency as me. Why…?” Bambam’s voice trailed off as he read the flyer.

The flyer was for a show happening this Friday at the café, and as a special treat, people could call in advance and request songs from a list at the bottom.

“They cover a lot of English songs,” Bambam noted. “Coldplay, Maroon 5, The Beatles…” Bambam stopped when he got to one particular listing.

Ten raised an eyebrow. “Romantic enough for you?” Ten clapped Bambam on the shoulder. “I’m gonna go up and ask the café owners if we can decorate and set the proper mood. _You_ go call the band. And take a deep breath. You’ve got until Friday.”

* * *

On Wednesday morning, Kun was confused. (“Ah, Kun-fused!” Xuxi would joke, and only Mark would double over, laughing loudly at his boyfriend’s joke. Which would cause Xuxi to start laughing just as much. A match made in heaven, truly.) But really. What Kun saw yesterday… For some reason, it _bothered_ him, so much so that he hadn’t slept very well the night before.

“Kun- _ge?_ ”

There was no way. Ten had been complaining about not being in a “cuteass relationship” for the past two weeks. It was so bad lately, in fact, that last week, Kun had overheard Taeyong and Johnny whispering about whether they should help Ten or not.

“Kun- _ge_ …”

There was no way. As mean as it sounded, Ten’s lack of a boyfriend was a fact of life. The sky was blue. The grass was green. Ten was single, and he hated it. And it had always been that way, for as long as Kun had known him.

There was no way…

“Kun- _ge!_ ”

“Huh? What?”

“The oven is done preheating,” Winwin said, and the oven beeped again, as if to agree with him.

“Oh. Right. Thanks…” Kun picked up the cookie sheet and slipped it into the oven. After setting the baking time, Kun closed his eyes and ran his hands over his face.

“Kun- _ge?_ ” Winwin called again. “Are you okay?”

A deep breath, then a sigh. “Yeah…yeah, I’m okay.”

Winwin looked doubtful. “Are you sure?” he asked. “You’ve been distracted all day.”

Kun wanted to dismiss it. Really, he did. But he would be a hypocrite if he refused to talk about his feelings. And so he sighed and gave Winwin an honest answer.

“Yesterday, I saw Ten with some boy. A handsome boy, quite truthfully…”

Winwin tilted his head. “What does that matter? We all agreed to end the tip game when Mark won.”

_Yeah, Kun, why would that matter?_

Kun wished he knew.

“I don’t think he was just a customer,” Kun said. “He pulled out a ring and gave it to Ten. And Ten… He looked like he was about to start crying.”

“Ten- _ge_ cried when we watched _Crazy Rich Asians_ , so I’m not really surprised.”

“That’s not the _point_ , Winwin. The point is… Who is that boy—?”

“ _Who dat, who dat, who dat boy_ ~” sang a familiar voice.

Kun fixed a stern look at the passerby in the doorway. “Xuxi, you don’t work here.”

“You’re right,” Xuxi replied. “But my boyfriend does, and I wanted to visit him. And besides, Johnny- _hyung_ loves me.”

“Johnny- _hyung_ loves anyone that laughs at his jokes.”

“Lucas!” came a call down the hallway. “Can you help me tie my apron?”

A wide grin split Xuxi’s face in half. “Coming, Mark!” And with that Xuxi disappeared.

Winwin snorted. “What is that one English word Julie always says? ‘Whipped?’”

“I don’t know,” Kun replied. “But I am happy for them.”

“Yeah,” said Winwin. “But it’s really funny how we’re all at different points in our lives.”

Kun blinked at the non sequitur. “What do you mean?”

“Well, there’s Xuxi and Mark, who just started their relationship. Meanwhile, Taeyong and Johnny, who have been in a dedicated relationship for a while now, told us to start decorating for the band’s performance on Friday. Apparently, it’s to celebrate someone’s engagement, and I’m probably going to go with…”

Kun had stopped listening at “engagement.”

 _Engagement?_ Was Ten having an engagement party on Friday? Is that what was going on? Ten was close to Johnny and Taeyong, after all, so it would make sense if they wanted to do something special for Ten… But if that boy was really Ten’s future fiancé, why hadn't anyone ever seen him before?

…actually, maybe that wasn’t completely true. But Kun was sure he had never seen that boy before. Which meant that he wasn't a regular customer. But there was a chance that the boy was another international student, since they managed to convince Johnny and Taeyong to do them a favor. Johnny was no longer president of the International Students Association, but Julie now held the position. So Johnny would pester his _dongsaeng_ for the latest news on ISA’s affairs, because Johnny pretty much adopted all the international students he could. (And it’s not like Taeyong would have acted as his boyfriend’s impulse control either, not when Taeyong was the nagging mother to Johnny’s embarrassing dad. Another match made in heaven, truly.)

Yeah. That was probably what was going on. Ten probably met that guy through ISA. That would make sense. Totally. It would explain why Kun hadn’t seen him. With graduation coming ever closer, Kun hadn't been involved with ISA nearly as much as he used to. Maybe that boy was one of the younger students that came later. Yes. That had to be it.

“Oh wow, Kun- _ge_ ,” came a mischievous little voice. “You look constipated. Is it coming from old age?”

“Chenle, you’re not supposed to be here either.”

Chenle walked away, his loud laughter echoing down the hallway.

It sounded to Kun like the laughter was mocking him, but it wasn’t because Chenle was making fun of him again. That was a sting he was used to.

This, somehow, felt worse.

* * *

“Balloons?”

“Check.”

“Streamers?”

Check.”

“Romantic lighting?”

“Yes, Ten!” Julie groaned. “And before you ask for the eighth time in two hours, the speakers work, the band finalized the setlist on Wednesday, and the fake candles have fresh batteries. Everything is fine!”

Ten sighed. “Sorry, I just…”

“...see this as your first real project for a client, that’s all,” Johnny soothed.

“No, Tennie,” said Julie. “ _I’m_ sorry. I know this is important to you, but you have to give yourself credit! Bam trusts you, and for good reasons! Don’t think that Mom and Dad haven’t noticed all the times that you fell asleep at your desk. They caught me hauling you into your bed and gave me a lecture about how I shouldn’t be encouraging your unhealthy habits. Thanks for that, by the way. Nothing like Mama Seo’s concerned voice and Papa Seo’s worried sighs.”

“ _Julie_ ,” Johnny warned.

“The _point_ is,” Julie continued. “You put your heart and soul into this, because this is what you want to do with your life. You still live with me and Mom and Dad because you’re putting all your time and energy towards your dream. So trust me, Tennie, there’s no way this can go wrong _because you literally care that much about every single detail_.”

“What she’s _trying_ to say, Tennie,” Johnny sighed, “is that we believe in you. We just wish you would believe in yourself too.”

Ten huffed a laugh, and for a second, he wondered what he must have done in his past life for the international students program to give him the Seos for a host family and Julie for a housemate. But the happy thought was quickly gone after Johnny, like the good _hyung_ he was, called Ten out on his bullshit.

“Tonight’s proposal isn't the only thing that's bothering you, is it?”

Ten looked from Johnny to Julie, then back to Johnny again with a sigh. It was useless to lie to them. They knew him too well.

“I just… I’m going to be planning weddings and things for the rest of my life, and I’m just wondering if I care too much. Like, just yesterday, I was fighting with Bambam on what kind of cake to serve. But it’s _his_ day tomorrow, not mine. Am I just…?”

“…living vicariously through him?” Johnny asked. “Maybe. But as long as you keep in mind whose event this _really_ is, I think you’ll be fine. Besides, you only ever suggest a change when you honestly think the original idea would be impossible. Anyone who knows you knows that, and we really do trust your judgement.”

Ten took a deep breath. “Yeah…” he managed. “Yeah. You're right. I just…”

“How about this?” Johnny asked. “I’ll grab Taeyong, and we'll go out to get food.”

“But—”

“All that’s left to do is test the microphones,” Julie said. “And God knows I do that enough in theatre. So go. Have fun. Take a break. You need it.”

Ten started laughing. If he didn’t, he might have started crying.

“I love us,” he said, trying (and failing) to sound grudging as he did so.

“We love you too, Tennie,” Johnny and Julie chorused.

* * *

Kun took a deep breath. He had no idea why he was so nervous. It was a simple question, and Julie was only 157 cm tall.

(“157 and a _half_ , thank you very much!”)

Despite her size, Julie was terrifying. The scars on her face told that story. And it didn't help that she was especially loyal to Ten and Johnny (and by extension, Taeyong). If you messed with people she loved, she would not hesitate to take you down.

But Kun also knew that if he didn't try, it would bother him. And so—

“Alright, what's the matter?”

Kun was startled. “What?”

“You look like Ten when he wants to ask something but is too scared to do so,” Julie said. “So. What is it?”

Kun swallowed. “Well, actually…it _is_ about Ten.”

“Oh?” Both Julie’s eyebrows shot up, but otherwise, her expression didn't change.

“Um, yes.” Kun felt like he was being judged, but he kept talking anyway. “How is Ten feeling?”

Julie scowled. “Why the hell are you asking _me_ that? You could just ask Ten himself?”

“Well…it’s just…he hasn't complained about being single for a while…”

“Yeah? So?”

“I mean…just…I don’t know…isn't that weird for him?”

“Oh, what, people can't just come to terms with the fact that they're single?”

“Well, no! I mean, single people that don't complain about being single exist. I mean, there's me, there's you—”

Julie bristled. “Don’t you dare bring me into this! Because, first of all, I hate being single. I just don't complain because I know I’m probably not gonna do anything about it.

“ _You_ , on the other hand. _You're_ single because you're an oblivious dumbass who hasn't figured out that someone has a crush on you!”

Kun stopped. “…what?”

“You heard me.”

Kun had indeed heard her. But… _what?_ Someone had a crush on him? _What?_

“Good _God_ , you're hopeless. I honestly don't know what that person sees in you. Because, here's the thing, Kun- _oppa_. You're amazing at listening to what other people have to say. But you don't pay any goddamn attention to what’s _really_ going on.”

Now Kun actually felt annoyed. “I notice things! Just the other day, Ten was crying over a handsome boy giving him a ring! And he’s been weirdly flustered since then. That’s why I wanted to ask! Is he nervous about his engagement or something?”

A beat of silence. Two. And then Julie threw her hands up in the air in exasperation.

“Look, Kun- _oppa_ , I know I'm bad at showing it sometimes, but I do genuinely think you're an awesome person. But as much as I like you, I will _always_ choose my family over you. As such, I think you should leave Ten alone. At least for the time being. He’s on a weird emotional roller coaster right now, and if he talked to you, it would just complicate things.”

Kun wanted to be offended. He really did. But he also understood that the bonds between Johnny, Ten and Julie were the unshakable sibling kind.

“And don't worry,” Julie said with a weird smirk on her face. “If everything goes well, I might not ever have to make a decision between the two of you ever again.”

_What the hell was that supposed to mean?_

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, there's only a few more hours before the engagement party, so I need to start baking if we want the cake to be frosted in time for the big event tonight.”

And with that, Julie left Kun with even more questions than he had before.

* * *

“Thank you all so much for coming out tonight,” some member of the band was saying. “How are we all doing tonight?” And of course, the crowd cheered. A crowd that consisted mostly of the band's label mates and other people in the industry. Which was honestly perfect, because that's who most of Lisa and Bambam’s friends were anyway.

Despite the noise, Ten honestly wasn’t paying very much attention. Not when he was too busy worried about whether or not tonight was going to go right.

“But before we go,” the member of the band continued, “we've got a special request for our last song tonight. So without further ado, here's ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran.”

And as the sweet romantic song began, Ten could feel his anxiety waning as he began to lose himself in the music. In fact, he was only vaguely aware that he was singing softly along with the song.

> _‘Cuz we were just kids when we fell in love_
> 
> _Not knowing what it was_
> 
> _I will not give up you time~_

Just as planned, someone stood and invited his lady to dance. It was Hyojong, and when Ten had asked if they would help with tonight, he and Hyuna were all too happy to be of service.

More pairs of dancers joined them. Some were just friends, some were on awkward terms. But they had all said yes to this planned dance. And so, Ten watched, with no small amount of pride, as they all entered the dance, one by one. There was Sungjae and Joy. Hui and Sorn. Hell, even Bang Chan, in an all-too playful manner, pulled Jamie out to the dance floor. Jamie, for her part, rolled her eyes, but she humored her friend nonetheless.

Jamie and Chan had been sitting with Bambam and Lisa, and nearby sat a few others their age. Perhaps the most impressive thing was that, in between Jaehyun and Yugyeom, sat the one and only Jeon Jungkook. Ten hadn't even realized that Bambam was close enough with Jungkook that Jungkook would risk the fan sightings for this, but there he was, nonetheless. He was keeping a low profile, of course, and the only reason Ten noticed him at all was because Woojin, who had been sitting at their table, stood up. He gave Jungkook a strange look, the kind that knew too much, before walking over to where Julie was sitting with Jungwoo and Doyoung.

Julie, for her part, looked surprised when Woojin asked her to dance. Most boys tended to avoid her because of the scarring nail marks across her face. But Woojin had always been a good guy, sticking by Julie's side through most of their college years. And so, with a flattered smile, Julie accepted the extended hand of an old friend.

With all these pairs out on the dance floor, Bambam stood and offered a hand to Lisa. She, of course, laughed and let her longtime boyfriend pull her out to dance. No choreography. No steps to memorize. Just Bambam, Lisa, and the music.

It was perfect for them.

Next to Ten, Kun made a confused noise.

“Ten,” he said. “Isn’t that—?”

Ten, who barely paid him any attention, immediately shushed him.

They looked so happy, Ten noted. And for a second, he found himself thinking ahead. He could see them now, dancing just like this, in their wedding garb and the same huge smiles on their faces. They were so happy, and Ten was happy for them.

The song wound down, and as planned, all the other couples managed to put themselves on the edges of the dancefloor, leaving only Bambam and Lisa in the center.

Lisa looked confused as she noticed this, and Ten watched as she turned to Bambam, probably to ask him what was going on, only to look down to see him on one knee. Her jaw dropped, her hands flew up to cover her mouth, and she began tearing up.

No one could hear the little speech Bambam was giving. They had all agreed to respectfully keep those words just between the two of them, and so the whole room waited with bated breath for Lisa’s response.

Finally, after a tiny eternity, Lisa finally nodded, and she practically tackled Bambam to the floor in a hug. And as they both began laughing hysterically together, the whole room began clapping loudly and excitedly yelling their congratulations at the newly engaged couple.

Over the din of the crowd, Ten could hear Johnny begin to play one of the new radio hits, and people began moving onto the dancefloor, dancing as they screamed the lyrics. Ten watched as Jaehyun pulled a grinning Julie out to dance, and Youngjae laughed loudly as Jackson yanked Mark Tuan out to where Jinyoung was dancing with his husband Jaebum. Even a few members of tonight’s band began pairing off, with two mischievous looking ones trying to drag their antisocial leader out to dance. All in all, it was a lovely scene, and it looked like so much fun—

 _“Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul!_ ”

Ten looked up just in time to see a crying Lisa marching towards him, followed by Bambam and two more of their Thai friends: Sorn and Minnie.

“You knew!” Lisa yelled again through her tears, and when she reached him, she began hitting Ten. “You knew, you bastard, and you _didn’t fucking tell meeee…_ ”

Ten, for his part, just stood up and pulled Lisa into a hug.

“But did you like it?” Ten asked, an amused smirk on his face.

Lisa gave a shaky but grudging laugh as she hugged Ten back. “Yeah…” she sniffled as she pulled away. “But you’re still an asshole.”

“This was so, _so_ cute!” Minnie said, happily clapping and hopping up and down. “I can’t believe you managed to plan the whole thing in a few days!”

“Well,” Ten flushed. “I had some help. If it wasn’t for Julie and Johnny and Taeyong—”

“Still,” Sorn interrupted. “You have to admit. You did a good job.”

Ten looked down at the floor. “Yeah…”

“I’m serious, Ten- _phi_ ,” Bambam said. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“Don’t mention it, Bambam,” Ten replied, giving Bambam a bro-hug. “Anything for Thai fam, am I right?”

Everyone laughed and suddenly, Minnie called for a group hug.

And as Ten was swept up into a happy little group hug, he failed to notice Kun staring at him, completely thrown for a loop.

* * *

_What?_

Just, _what?_

So Ten… _wasn’t_ the one getting engaged?

Instead, Ten was helping his friend propose to his girlfriend?

But…but how the _hell_ was Kun supposed to have known that?

_Why do you even care?_

“Kun,” a voice called gently. “Are you okay?”

Caught off guard, Kun blinked up stupidly at Johnny. “Ah, well. You know. Parties. Not my scene. They never have been, really.”

“Kun,” Johnny repeated, a little more firmly this time. “If you didn’t want to be here, you would have left already.”

Now, a lot of people made jokes that Johnny acted like a dad, but he did have a way of making you feel like a kid again.

“Shouldn't you be doing DJ things?” Kun asked.

Johnny shrugged. “Jaehyun wanted a turn after dancing with Julie for a little bit. Apparently, Bambam’s friend Yugyeom asked to cut in.”

“Oh…”

“Come on,” Johnny said, when Kun didn’t say anything else. “Taeyong wanted me to grab the cake we made for tonight. They’re not waiting for it or anything, so we can take as long as you need.”

 _We’re not leaving until I know you’re okay_ , was what Johnny actually meant. And Kun would have been annoyed, if he didn’t use that same tone on Chenle and Renjun just yesterday.

Kun was quiet as they walked to the kitchen, wondering how this conversation was going to go. Johnny considered Ten to be his little brother, after all. Was Johnny going to call Kun out for his asinine behavior this past week? Would he get a lecture for bringing down the mood of the party by sulking the corner? Or would he—?

“Kun,” Johnny said. “What’s bothering you?”

_How stressed I felt when I thought that Ten was getting married…_

But Kun wasn't quite ready to even begin thinking about what that meant.

“I don’t know…” Kun said instead. “It’s just… I thought I had Ten figured out. I mean, the entire time I’ve known him, he hadn't really done anything to change my impression of him. He was charming, sure. Flirty, even. And I know on campus, people assume that he’s… well… _promiscuous_ , even though he’s never dated anyone, never mind taken someone home…

“But now… Maybe it sounds stupid, but I had somehow convinced myself that Ten didn’t really have another side to him. It was easy to forget that he’s actually just as diligent as you or Mark or Taeyong or…” Kun closed his eyes, a wave of shame washing over him. “But seeing all this…he managed to pull this off in only a few days? I just…” And Kun was quiet again.

“He wants to plan weddings,” Johnny said suddenly.

Kun opened his eyes to look back at Johnny. ¨Really?”

“Yeah. He’s graduating this year, actually. With Julie. He took an extra year, so he could get his bachelors degree and MBA in one go. He wants to start his business as soon as he graduates, and Bambam and Lisa have already asked if they could have the honor of being his first wedding. And Ten’s flattered and happy, because people actually want him to succeed at making his dream come true.”

“I…” For some reason, Kun suddenly felt like crying. “I had no idea…” he whispered.

 _You never asked_ , said a scathing inner voice that sounded oddly like Julie.

“It just goes to show you,” Johnny said sagely, and far more kindly than inner-Julie. “No matter how well you think you know someone, they can still surprise you.”

The two of them were quiet for a while, looking out over the crowd having fun. Johnny's eyes in particular kept checking on his little pseudo-sister, who had gone from dancing with Yugyeom to dancing with his younger label mates. From the looks of it, they were trying to teach Julie the dance to their female label mates’ song, and judging from the loud laughter from them all, everyone involved was having fun.

_I wanna know, know, know, know:_

_What is love?_

“Why the sudden interest in Ten?” Johnny asked suddenly.

Kun wasn't quite sure how to answer that. So he started at the beginning. Kun told Johnny about how he’d seen Ten’s reaction to the ring on Tuesday, and how he’d jumped to the conclusion that Ten was the one getting married. How the supposed engagement kept bothering Kun, and for some reason, it never sat right with him.

“Oh what, were you jealous or something?” Johnny joked.

Kun blinked. Was that what that was? No, it couldn't have been. Could it?

“I’m kidding, of course,” Johnny said. “But Kun. If you really want to get to know him better…don't. At least, not until you're absolutely sure you know what the hell you're doing. Ten doesn’t deserve to be humored by someone that won’t be there for him when he needs it. He needs someone that will pay attention to him.”

 _You don't pay any goddamn attention to what’s_ really _going on_ , Julie had said.

Kun remembered being offended by the comment at the time. But considering everything that had happened tonight… Kun was beginning to wonder if that was true.

When Kun zoned back in, Johnny was staring out at the dance floor again. Taeyong, who was dancing next to Ten, locked eyes with Johnny, and in response, Johnny grinned back and began dancing terribly right where he was.

 _Like an embarrassing dad,_ Mark would complain.

But Taeyong just laughed and began waving him over.

“Ah, Kun,” Johnny said. “If you don’t mind… You can handle the cake, can’t you?”

“Yeah, no problem…”

But Johnny was already halfway out the door, heading straight for his boyfriend. And Taeyong immediately grabbed Johnny’s hands and began to spin him around at arms length. They spun faster and faster until the two of them were laughing like deliriously happy children.

Leaving Kun alone with a lot to think about.

* * *

 About a week or so later, Ten was stressed. When Julie asked what was bothering him, he’d told her that he was fine, just that Bambam kept changing his mind about what color he wanted the wedding to be. (Lisa wasn’t nearly as picky, but she liked humoring her fiancé.)

“You’re a shit liar, Ten,” Julie had said. But what Ten had always loved about Julie was that she would _never_ ask questions, instead trusting people to tell her what she needed to know when she needed to know them.

But really. Ten would never admit it, but _Kun_ was what was bothering him. Maybe Kun thought that Ten would be too busy to notice, but Kun had been staring a lot lately. And what Ten hated even more was the look in his eyes. Like he was dying to ask Ten a question, but he wasn't quite sure if he could.

Finally, Ten couldn't take it anymore, so he looked directly at Kun and snapped.

“Will you just ask your question already?”

“W-what?” Kun was clearly not used to an irritated Ten, because he was caught completely off guard.

“You've been staring at me for a while now, and you clearly want to ask me something. So just ask it. Please. Before I lose my mind.”

Kun was quiet for a while. And after a long five seconds, Kun finally spoke.

“So,” he said. “You want to plan weddings?”

Well. That's not what Ten expected.

“Yeah. I do. Did Julie tell you or something?”

“Actually, no. It was Johnny.”

Ten scoffed. “Ah, Johnny. Of course.” If it wasn’t one meddling pseudo-sibling, it was probably the other one.

“But yeah,” Ten said. “I want to plan weddings. Why do you ask?”

Ten didn’t want to be here. He didn’t want to share his dreams with someone he was supposed to be getting over. But Ten was also a weak, weak man.

And that’s how, a few minutes later, they were flipping through Ten’s sketchbook and a few of his accompanying notebooks.

“Johnny and Taeyong want a small wedding?”

“Yeah,” Ten replied. “They're really not the type to broadcast their relationship very much, so they'll probably have a private ceremony. The reception, though? Probably gonna be huge. They know and love too many people.”

Kun flipped a few pages further. Pausing to squint at a new set of plans, Kun looked back at Ten. “You already have things planned for Xuxi and Mark?”

Ten felt the blood rushing to his ears. “They’re good together,” he said. “And besides, they're just ideas…”

Kun read the outline, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “A big wedding? But Xuxi doesn't have a lot of family.”

“ _Xuxi_ doesn't,” Ten replied. “But Mark? The Lee clan is huge. Which would probably be fine with Xuxi’s side of things. That whole family is extroverted. They _love_ people.”

A few pages later, Kun stopped again, staring reverently at the sketch.

“Whoa,” Kun said softly. “Did you draw this?”

Ten didn't know it was possible, but he suddenly felt even more self-conscious.

“It's beautiful,” Kun continued. “And this dress is for Julie?”

Ten chuckled nervously. “Yeah,” he managed. “Julie's pretty convinced that she’ll be a dog lady in the future, but I know deep down, she wants to get married one day.”

And then Kun had to ruin it all by asking, “But what about you?”

Ten could feel everything—his stomach, his mood, his smile—drop.

_Oh God._

_Oh God, why?_

_Why here? Why now?_

_And most importantly, why him?_

The bitter laugh was out before Ten could stop it.

“Oh please. Julie _thinks_ she's not getting married, but me? I already _know_ that I’m not getting married.”

Kun looked surprised, like he wasn't quite sure what he just got himself into. “Why do you sound so sure of that?”

Now, honesty was probably a bad idea here. But fuck it. Ten was in this deep. He may as well die like a man too.

“Because I'm in love with someone who never sees me,” Ten admitted. “Not as anything desirable, anyway. At worst, I'm a nuisance. As best, I'm just a friend. So no. He doesn't see me. Not the way I want him to…”

And Ten’s heart shattered with Kun’s next words.

“…I see you now.”

In another life, Ten might have rejoiced. But this wasn't a fairytale nor a fluffyass fanfiction.

And so Ten said, “No.”

Kun was taken aback. “No?”

Ten scoffed. “Do you really think I'm that desperate? That I’d be so eager to not be single that I'd go out with you just because you asked?!”

“I—” Kun actually looked scared, but Ten couldn't bring himself to care right now.

“Just two weeks ago, you didn't even _talk_ to me. Don't think I didn't hear you complain about how much of an attention-seeking flirt I was?!”

Kun blanched. “Ten, I—”

“And all of a sudden, you think can just waltz in and decide to date me?! I don't need your pity or your guilt.”

“Ten—”

“Fuck you, Kun,” Ten snapped. “Fuck. You.”

And with that, Ten stomped his way out of the café, escaping out to the alleyway and slamming the door behind him. And he didn't look back. Not as he crossed the street. Not as he turned the corner. Not even as he rode the metro home.

It wasn't until he locked the door to his bedroom that he sank down to the floor and began to cry.

* * *

“...so Ten rejected you?” Yuta asked Kun over lunch the next day.

“That’s surprising,” Winwin said as he stole a piece of sushi off of Yuta’s plate. “But I understand where he's coming from.”

Kun really wasn’t sure how he wound up at a restaurant with Yuta, Winwin, and Taeyong. He didn’t even know why he told them about Ten. But apparently, his sulking was really off-putting, so they left Johnny in charge of the café, pulled Kun out to lunch, and there he was, in some sushi place, talking about yesterday.

“Yeah, it’s kind of hard to be sympathetic with your side of things,” Yuta said, not even acknowledging Winwin’s sushi-stealing. “I mean, you never really asked him about himself at all.”

“I don’t know if you meant to do this,” Taeyong added. “But pretty much everyone, especially Ten, was under the impression that you really didn't see us as friends. That you came to family dinners because you didn't have time to make your own food, and that you really had no interest in talking to us outside of work.”

Before Kun could protest, the others began pulling out their own proverbial receipts.

“Every time I asked if you were coming to ISA meetings,” Winwin began, “you would always tell me that you had homework to do.”

“Sometimes after work,” Yuta added, “I’d invite you out to join us for drinks. But you always said you had to study instead.”

“Even Lucas asked me if you had any friends,” Taeyong said. “Apparently, you eat lunch by yourself in the cafeteria. You have your school papers spread out on the table, and you're always typing something on your laptop.”

Kun felt ashamed. So much so that he didn't know _what_ to say. He could only wonder when he had gotten so… _self-absorbed._

“Look, Kun,” Yuta said. “We understand that you're working hard to graduate, and we admire your dedication and work ethic. But can you at least see why it could be hard for Ten to accept your feelings?”

_Feelings?_

“Wait…do I have feelings for Ten?”

The whole table went silent, staring at Kun in varying degrees of incredulity.

“What the hell do you mean—?” Winwin clapped a hand over Yuta's mouth.

Taeyong was a little more composed. “Well,” he began after taking a sip of his cola. “Let’s unpack this. What do you know about Ten?”

Kun took a deep breath. “Well, one time, everyone was talking about their dream home, and Ten mentioned the idea of liking a beach house. But he quickly changed his mind when he realized he’d have to deal with sand.

“There was another similar conversation about pets. Ten said he wanted a Siamese cat and that he’d name it Sagwa, after some American cartoon he used to watched with Johnny and Julie when they were sad. If he could afford a whole family of Siamese cats, he’d name them after the rest of the cartoon cat family too.

“Whenever Julie and Johnny tease him, they tell him he’s bad at lying. In reality, he’s an amazing actor. Johnny and Julie just know him too well.

“He can’t walk in a straight line. He always ends up drifting into the person next to him, and Xuxi always complains that Ten keeps pushing him into a wall.

“When he eats ice cream, he flips the spoon upside down and licks up into it while it’s in his mouth.

“If his hair is unstyled and he’s wearing his glasses, it means that he had a rough start to the day.

“And sometimes he doesn’t realize that he’s singing along to whatever music is playing, but he just has the nicest voice, so I never tell him to stop—”

“Alright, that’s enough,” Winwin said, having long since released Yuta in the midst of Kun’s rant. Then turning to Yuta, Winwin said, “You know, he sounded a little bit like you for a second. Cute and very happy.”

Yuta’s ears turned red. “I’m still not used to you talking about me like that.”

“Yuta- _hyung_ , we’ve been dating for three months, what do you mean you're not used to—?”

“Wait, _what?_ ” Kun wasn’t sure he heard correctly.

Yuta’s face was completely red now, but Winwin just shrugged, trying to play off his own embarrassment by laughing nervously. “Yeah. That’s. You know. A thing.”

Kun shot Taeyong a panicked look. “Did you know about this? As far as I knew, Winwin kept rejecting Yuta’s affections.”

“Yeah, I overhear a lot of people saying that,” Yuta said. “But no. Winwinnie just hates PDA, so he always has to remind me of what I can and can’t do.”

“You’ve been getting better about it, though,” Winwin said shyly, and he was immediately rewarded with a wide, happy smile.

“To be perfectly fair,” Taeyong said, “they were doing a perfectly good job of keeping their relationship to themselves. The only reason Johnny and I found out was because two days ago, Julie screamed loudly when she found them making out in a broom closet.”

Now Winwin looked embarrassed. “Okay, that part was actually embarrassing. She wouldn’t look at either of us for the rest of the day.”

“Only because she thought we were mad at her for drawing attention to us.”

Winwin shrugged. “We bought her a chocolate cake, though. So she’s fine now.”

“It’s actually disturbing how easily she can be placated with food…” Taeyong sighed.

Kun shook his head. “Wow…I really don’t notice things, do I?”

“Well,” Taeyong said. “Now we know that’s not entirely true. Because even though you haven’t been paying much attention to the rest of us, you’ve still managed to pick up on little things about Ten. So whether you’ve realized it or not, Ten is someone noteworthy to you.”

Kun let this sink in. “So, what happens now?”

“Well, first of all,” Taeyong began. “Ten has to be wooed. So there’s that.”

“Buy him flowers!” Yuta exclaimed.

“Make him food?” Winwin suggested.

“Or sing him a song!”

“Write a confession in Thai?”

“Okay, _stop_ ,” Taeyong said. “This is _Kun’s_ confession, not yours.”

“But Taeyong- _hyung_ —”

“And besides,” Taeyong grinned mischievously. “This is where our help stops. He deserves to flounder a little bit.”

“Truuuuuue,” Yuta and Winwin chorused.

And, wow. As much as he deserved it, Kun still felt a little miffed.

“Where were you getting those ideas anyway?” Kun asked.

“Buzzfeed articles,” Yuta replied.

Huh. No wonder it took so long for Winwin to say yes.

* * *

Ten was just not having it today. First of all, he woke up late, and he’d skipped breakfast in order to run into class on time… Only to find out that today’s class was cancelled. And so, finding himself with more than a few hours to kill, he decided to head back to the café. But of course, because it was just his luck, he got splashed by a car rushing through a huge puddle in the street. So by the time the little bell above the shop door jingled, Mark looked up and immediately ran into the back room to grab a towel and some spare clothes. (Spills were a part of café life, so Johnny and Taeyong always made sure that they were prepared.)

“I’m warming something in the microwave,” Mark said, handing Ten the towel when he finished changing in the bathroom. “You looked like you could use a pick-me-up.”

“Please never say that ever again.” Ten towelled off his hair and followed Mark to the break room, plopping himself down at one of the lunch tables. “Is Julie here?”

“No,” Mark replied, taking a ceramic mug out of the microwave. “She said she had to go print something out before her next class.”

“Johnny?”

“Decided to spoil Taeyong by taking him out to brunch.”

“Good,” Ten sighed. “I'm not in the mood to deal with either of them today. I know they love me and all, but they'd definitely clown me for this shit.”

Mark chuckled. “Yeah, well. Anyway, here.” Mark poured the contents of the mug into a paper coffee cup and topped it with a plastic lid. Then he placed the cup in front of Ten, along with a piece of paper.

“This stuff came with a note,” he explained.

Ten frowned at the drink, particularly at the piece of cardstock taped to it. “I don't drink coffee…”

“It's not coffee,” Mark shrugged. “Anyway, I’m going back to the front. Just…relax or something, yeah?” And with that, Mark shuffled out of the room, in his awkward, adorable way.

Ten, who had moved to pick up the coffee cup to look at the note, had stopped listening. Quickly putting the cup back down, he took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down. Because he recognized the handwriting on the note.

It was Kun’s.

 _Why?_ Ten thought miserably. _I promised myself that I was done with him…_

But curiosity is a grating thing, and so Ten, like the weak, weak man he was, took the note and began to read.

 

_I remember the first time I saw you. You were so full of smiles and laughs and happy energy… I didn't quite know what to do with myself. I didn't have the courage to do so, but I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to introduce myself, say something witty, make you laugh, maybe even impress you. Not that it matters what I would have done. What I should have was approach you at all._

_I'm sorry I didn't._

 

No way. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be real—

Ten had taken a sip of the drink and was startled at the taste.

It was tea. But it wasn’t just any kind of tea. It was a really specific fruit blend from a tiny tea shop down a sidestreet, and Ten only went there once with Kun. Albeit, it was because they were with Jungwoo and Xuxi, who insisted he knew where some ice cream shop was, but they got lost, so Ten decided to take them to a part of town he knew, and Kun—

No. Just no.

Ten was not that easy.

He wasn’t just going to accept this…

(He still drank the tea, though. It would have been rude to waste it.)

* * *

Ten, quite admittedly, was in the worst mood today. Except instead of oversleeping like yesterday, Ten had had the opposite problem. Kun— _goddamn Kun—_ and his note kept Ten up at night.So between that and the thunderstorm currently raging outside, he’d decided to try and be productive today. He tried to clean the house, but when he plugged in the vacuum, the lights he had turned on went out.

Power outage. Go figure.

So Ten decided to fire up his laptop instead. Except he had forgotten that he’d accepted a Windows update the night before, so his computer wouldn’t be accessible for the next half—wait, one—no, two—ah, fuck it, _several_ hours.

With no power and nothing else to do—his phone died hours ago, and at some point, he had tripped and lost his glasses—Ten found himself sitting on a bar stool at the kitchen counter. He put his arms up on the countertop, rested his head on top of them, felt his eyes flutter shut—

Ten wasn't sure when he fell asleep, but suddenly, his head jolted up.

“Fucking _stop_!” Ten snapped, leveling a glare at the blurry figure wearing a backpack and holding what looked like a bag in one hand and a set of keys in the other.

The figure immediately stopped poking Ten and took a step back.

“Oh wow,” Julie said. “Good morning to you too, Tennie.”

Ten groaned, laying his head back down. “How long have I been here?”

Julie snorted. “I don't know. I didn't know you wanted me to time it.”

“Julie, _I swear to fucking_ —”

“But if I had to guess, I'd say like…four hours?” Julie interrupted, because she only had one fear, and an angry Ten was not it.

“Okay, but seriously, Tennie. Who farted in your oatmeal?”

“…what the hell is oatmeal—?”

“Never mind that,” Julie said dismissively, instead placing the bag on the kitchen counter.

Ten scowled. “What the hell is this?”

“Hell if I know, Tennie. But it was waiting for you in the café, so I thought I'd just bring it home to you.” And with that, she walked away, presumably to go put her backpack in her room. She must have just come back from school.

_God, how long did he sleep?_

Ten pulled the bag closer. Upon closer inspection, it was a gift bag. It was a simple one: a simple sky blue color, with red tissue paper covering its contents.

Dear God, what was this? And Ten, none too gently, tore open the envelope and yanked out the piece of cardstock.

 

_Once, there was a time it was raining. You didn't have an umbrella; you never remember to keep it with you. I half-expected you to be complaining about the rain ruining your hair. But you didn't. Instead, you were worried that the people stuck out in the rain would get sick. I'm ashamed of myself now, for believing everyone that assumed you were that shallow._

_I’m sorry I didn't see you for the considerate person you really are._

 

A eerily calm wave of rage bubbled up inside Ten. Kun _deserved_ to feel every piece of shame for every assumption he ever made about Ten. And not for the first time, Ten wondered…why Kun?

Taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm down, Ten began pulling the pieces of tissue paper out of the gift bag. Not that Ten actually _cared_ what was in it, it's just that—

It's just that there was a plushie in it. And not only was it infuriatingly cute—Ten was trying to get over Kun, dammit—but it was a plushie of a cat.

A _Siamese_ cat, no less.

Suddenly, Ten had had enough. Grabbing the stupid plush cat by the neck, he whirled around and hurled it with all of his strength, just barely missing Julie. She’d come back downstairs for a snack, and if she hadn't ducked, the plushie probably would have hit her.

Julie, for once in her life, just looked at a heaving Ten and didn't say a word.

* * *

“I sometimes wonder.”

Xuxi froze, his noodle-laden chopsticks poised in midair. “Wonder about what, Ten- _hyung_?”

Ten blinked, suddenly realizing he had said that out loud. “Oh, um. Nothing…”

Ten expected Xuxi to just shrug and keep eating. After all, he was always stuffing his mouth during their weekly lunch meeting at their favorite Thai restaurant. (Which, for the record, it wasn’t their favorite just because it was owned by Bambam’s family. But the connections didn’t hurt at all.) But today, Xuxi put down his chopsticks and gave Ten an uncharacteristic frown.

¨Ten- _hyung_ , I know a lot of people think I’m dense and unobservant, but even I’ve noticed that you’ve been kind of weird lately. So. What’s going on?”

Maybe it was the fact that Xuxi looked so serious. Maybe it was the fact that Ten was so goddamn _tired_. But he wound up talking Xuxi about Kun.

“I just wonder sometimes. Instead of talking to Kun like a normal person, I avoided the kitchen because I wasn't sure if I could handle working with him. I already had a crush on him when he was the TA for my Chinese class. But I actually had to deal with him on a daily basis? I wasn't sure if my heart could handle it…

“But still. I wonder. What if I had talked to Kun, the day he started working at the café? Would we have been good friends by now? Would I have clowned him like you and the other Chinese students? Would he have laughed at my jokes? I just…”

Xuxi shrugged and moved to pick up his chopsticks again. “Well, I mean. It’s perfectly normal to feel that way. You can't really change the past, but you can't really change memories. It's hard to forget how you feel, especially if you felt it intensely.”

Ten blinked in surprise. “…I always knew you were smart, but when the hell did you become so wise?”

Xuxi shrugged again, this time through a mouth full of noodles. “I’m a psych major, Ten- _hyung_. I’m supposed to be good at validating other people’s feelings.”

Huh. Well then.

“There are stages,” Xuxi continued after an inhumanly large swallow. “When someone processes some kind of news. Well, actually, the Kübler-Ross model hasn’t really stood up well to the test of time as far as legitimacy goes, but it does make for a poetic—”

Suddenly, Xuxi’s phone rang: a tinny 80s pop song, of all things.

 _Take my breath away…_ The phone sang, and a rare flustered Xuxi appeared, flushing as he pull out a little more cash than his food probably cost.

“Ah, Ten- _hyung_ ,” he said, throwing the money on the table. “Do you mind if I…?” He pulled out his phone and awkwardly gestured at it.

 **亲爱的** , the screen said. And Ten couldn’t help it. He smiled a little.

“Go right ahead,” he said. “I’ll handle the check.”

And with a grateful smile, Xuxi cleared his throat and answered the phone.

“Oh, Mark!” Xuxi said as he began leaving the restaurant, trying a little too hard to sound casual. Which failed miserably, but the way. Not even five seconds later, a wide happy grin split Xuxi’s face in half as he laughed loudly at something Mark said.

Ten watched Xuxi leave with a sigh. They were adorable. Really.

“Here’s Xuxi’s check,” the waitress—Bambam’s little sister Baby—said, suddenly appearing out of nowhere.

Well, that was fast.

Wait—

“Where’s mine?”

Baby shrugged. “Someone came in earlier and paid for your meal already. He left you this note. Here.” Baby handed him yet another piece of that same cardstock.

Ten must have made a face, because Baby looked worried.

“Should we be concerned?” she asked. “Somehow, he knew your order, and we didn’t really know what to say, so Bank and Beer agreed to just leave it, but I just—”

“No, no. It’s fine.” Ten could feel the blood rushing to his face. “I know him. He just…”

A dangerous look crossed Baby’s face, the same one that Ten’s own little sister used to get when she was about to start shit.

“Ooh, does Ten- _phi_ have a boyfriend~?”

Ten scowled. “Don’t you have work to do?”

Baby pouted. “Fine. But I expect details, Ten- _phi_!”

Ten sighed, sending a quick prayer that Baby would never meet Jungwoo and Julie. Then, deciding that he really shouldn’t put it off any longer, he began to read.

 

_About a week after I started working at the café, you came in with Julie, and the two of you were eating ice cream. I don’t know why I couldn't look away, but I suddenly wondered what it would be like to kiss you. I remember panicking at the crazy thought… After all, I hardly knew you._

_But now? Now, if we're being honest, I still don't know you. Not the way I should, and certainly not the way you deserve._

_And yet despite all that, I’m sorry I didn't kiss you._

 

“You should have,” Ten whispered softly. If only Kun had kissed him. If only Ten had confessed to him normally. If only they had _known_ …

If only…

If only,

If only.

* * *

“I just…I don't know…”

“Johnny,” Ten sighed. “You've literally been with him for what, six years?”

“Well, technically only if you only count _after_ our confession, we’ve only been officially dating for two—”

“And you were pretty much already exclusive by then. So fuck official technicalities, you’ve been with him for a longass time.”

“But—”

“And Taeyong’s pretty much already married to you. Hell, you both keep calling all of us your kids. So just pick a damn ring, and _let’s go_. I’m _starving._ ”

“...you know, as a future wedding planner, I thought you would be more understanding about this.”

“There’s a difference between a client that’s nervous and your brother being an idiot.”

Johnny made a face, but eventually he sighed in resignation.

“You’re right…” Johnny chuckled softly, the kind that you make when you don’t know what else to do. “You know, if Julie were here, she’d probably be yelling at me. Like, ‘if you can’t be trusted to buy something you know they’re gonna like, then you shouldn’t be marrying them—’”

Johnny suddenly stopped walking in the middle of the sidewalk.

Ten huffed, having almost walked into him. “Johnny, what the—?”

“Oh my god,” he whispered. Then he exploded into a happy ball of excitement. “Tennie, I know what to do!”

Ten blinked. “What—?”

“Go home, Tennie! I’ve got this!” And with that, he began running down the street.

Ten blinked, watching him go. Then, he sighed, turned around, and headed back home.

When he walked into the house, he was surprised—except, he really wasn’t—to see Taeyong teaching Julie to cook while wearing Johnny’s old volleyball hoodie. Taeyong looked up and greeted him with a smile.

“Hey, Tennie!” But then Taeyong’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Where’s Johnny?”

Thankfully, Ten was ready for that one. “He’s buying something important. He wouldn’t tell me what, though.

Ten was glad that Taeyong didn’t know his tells the way Johnny and Julie did, because Taeyong just sighed fondly and rolled his eyes a little. “He’s probably trying to rent out the dance studio again. That man and his romantic gestures…”

Good god, even after over six years, Taeyong still looked so soft and smitten and happy, and even though Ten was used to seeing him—and Johnny too, for that matter—looking that way, Ten just felt an old flash of envy all over again.

“Anyway,” Julie said. “Speaking of romantic gestures, go in the living room. Someone sent you something this morning, so I took it and put it on the coffee table.”

As Ten walked slowly to the living room, he felt something sink to the bottom of his stomach. He knew exactly who it was from, after all, if the piece of cardstock taped to the box of chocolates wasn’t obvious enough…

 

_The first time I saw you with glasses and unstyled hair, my heart stopped. I had already found you incredibly attractive, but seeing you like that? You actually looked approachable. Like someone I had a chance with. A dangerous thing for me: it was safer when I thought you were out of my league._

_I'm sorry I was too scared to admit these things. Even to myself._

 

A wave of sadness crashed into Ten’s soul. He found himself mourning lost time. All the times he and Kun could have been happy instead of… _this_ …

(Ten might have eaten all the chocolate while curled up on his bed later that evening.)

* * *

Ten was scared. He was mature enough to admit that much. Because the notes had started on a Monday. And now, it was Friday, which meant that this, quite possibly, was the last note. But what would it say? That Kun was letting go of Ten? That Ten should move on because Kun didn't deserve it?

Swallowing thickly, Ten walked into his Advanced Chinese Conversation class, only to see a bunch of people crowded around his desk.

“What is this?” Ten asked Doyoung, approaching the first familiar face.

“Someone left you flowers,” Doyoung replied helpfully.

Ten rolled his eyes. “Don’t quit your day job to become a detective, Doyoung- _ah_.”

And as Doyoung huffed a little in annoyance, Ten picked up the bouquet of red roses from off of his desk. It was only fitting, Ten supposed, that Ten would find the last note in his Chinese class. It was in a Chinese class where he first saw Kun, after all, back when Ten was a student and Kun was a TA. Taking it back to where it all started. Showing Ten that Kun _remembered_.

They were red roses too, of all things. Right there, that already said a lot. Most people assumed that, since red roses were a cliché gift, that Ten, a future wedding planner, would be over that sort of thing. But Ten, despite everything, had always kept red roses as his favorite flower. He talked a lot about white lilies and yellow sunflowers. But red roses?

And Ten sighed, smiling a little. He picked up the white envelope leaning against the flowers, carefully opening it and pulling out the last note.

 

_As you might have noticed this week, there's a lot of things I'm sorry about._

_And I'm not even close to done._

_I'm sorry I let you think I hated you._

_I'm sorry I disappointed you._

_I'm sorry I made you think that I didn't care._

_But the thing I'm most sorry about is that even though I do care, even though I have noticed all these things about you…_

_I'm sorry I never told you how much you're actually on my mind._

_I want to make it up to you._

_One date with me? Please?_

_I know it's not nearly enough, but I want to start somewhere small. Somewhere sincere. And most importantly, somewhere believable._

_If you say no, I'll understand. I've given you a million reasons to doubt me, after all. And yet all I can offer to make you believe me is one date._

_I'm sorry for that too._

 

Oh, Kun…

Sweet, lovely, wonderful Kun.

There might have been a million reasons for Ten to say no…

But honestly? Ten needed only one reason to say yes.

* * *

And let’s just say? One date was all it took.

And even though Ten forgave him a long time ago, Kun never stopped trying to make it up to Ten.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi. This wound up being twice as long as I expected, and I put a lot of random shit I probably didn't need to. (I say that and yet I wrote the world's most abrupt ending. Whoops.) Anyway, if you guys want, I can also expand all of the other pairings too! Thanks for reading!
> 
> (Also, side note: Lucas has Mark saved in his phone as "Beloved/Dear/Darling." At least, that's what Google tells me...)
> 
> EDIT: (I posted the story at 2am and couldn't properly form my thoughts.) Looking back at this now, I realize that some people seem...well, out of character. I wrote this with the intention of being a sequel to my other fic, in which I was afraid that I had dismissed Ten as little more than a needy little flirt that hated being single. My intention with this fic was to give him a little more depth.
> 
> As for Kun. The Kun in this work is intensely focused on his goals, and the panic of possibly losing Ten is what shakes him out of that. It's not that Kun suddenly has feelings for Ten. Those feelings, no matter how buried, still existed. It's just that Kun let other things take over his life. Ten is an awakening, and Kun realizes that he needs to rethink a few things. At the start of the fic, Kun is working a lot, and a lot of his friends are feeling neglected. Kun hasn't meant to push them away. Rather, he lost himself in the midst of all his schoolwork, and he realizes that his priorities are suddenly not what they should have been.
> 
> As a final note, I'd like to point out that this is a work of fiction, and the actions of the characters in this story do not necessarily reflect the personalities of their namesakes. I don't mean to villainize Kun or victimize Ten. Instead, I see this story as one of miscommunication. Of wrong perceptions and the jarring realizations of how wrong those perceptions were. It's all very Pride & Prejudice, really.
> 
> [CuriousCat](https://curiouscat.me/princessgongju1)   
>  [Twitter](https://twitter.com/princessgongju1)


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